Stop me if I've already told you this...but we get down to Saginaw every so often (at least once a month lately), and there is an Aldi's there. Well, 2 of them, but we drive right past one of them...anyway, as a rule their dairy, some of their frozen foods, and snack foods (for hubby and grandson), canned goods, coffee, spices are cheaper than I can get here in Houghton Lake. So I've started doing more shopping there and less here.
Yesterday I spent $50.06. Here is the breakdown:
(2) 1# butter @ $2.29 ea.
(2) 15 oz. ricotta @ $1.69 ea.
(1) qt. Mayonaisse @ 2.19
(1) 1# ground premium sausage @ $2.69
(4) qt. Half'n'half @ $1.79 ea.
(1) 11.3 oz can decaf coffee @ $2.79
(2) 16 oz. shredded cheese @ $2.99 ea
(1) 16 oz. sour cream @ $1.29
(2) cans chicken broth @ $0.59 ea.
(2) cans tomato sauce @ $0.29 ea.
(1) 16 slice American cheese @ $1.99
(1) 16 slice Swiss cheese @ $0.99
(4) frozen pizzas @ $1.99 ea.
The rest is the snack foods, such as oyster crackers and peanut butter/cheese cracker sandwiches that my grandson loves, and some "veggie chips" for my husband.
Then we went to GFS, as I needed some big bags of vegetables for a dish I needed to prepare for a large group after a memorial service today. I spent $14.00, used about $6.00 worth for the dish, and got extra for our own use.
Today I stopped in at Merchandise Mart and found Bob's Red Mill low carb bread mix for $1.99. Each package makes a 2# loaf, and will probably cost nearly $3 per loaf after adding in the cream, egg, etc., but it's better than buying "light" bread for $2.99 and not knowing what most of the ingredients are. (I don't know when I'll have enough $ for a netrition order to get more flours for making my own Lovely Loaf.) They also had a variety of "whole grain" chips for $0.25 per bag - big bags, not single servings - that will give me something to put in baggies in hubby's lunches at night. The other bargain was unsweetened organic coconut for $1.29; I bought 2 packages but it's such a great deal that I will probably go back tomorrow and get the rest. (We bought suet cakes for the feeder, a 2012 planner, and some other non-edible stuff as well.) Value of the food items about $13.60.
Total spent is around $72.00 for food this week; added to roughly $41 last week, and we're at $113 so far this month. Still need to buy meats...but no rush, we probably have enough to last another week or 2...
Is half and half better than using heavy whipping cream? I notice you have that instead of HWC--can half and half be substituted in recipes as well as the HWC? I see that half and half is much cheaper! trying to figure out the best and cheapest way here too--thanks so much
ReplyDeleteHeavy whipping cream is less carby - MUCH less - so I use it in recipes when I have it...which is determined by if I could afford it that week :). We like half'n'half in our coffee better, so we always have a lot in the house. For a while we used heavy cream and diluted it with water (50/50), but (a) we drink a LOT of coffee so it was still expensive, and (b) we often pour coffee, get busy, and come back to a lukewarm cup...the fat in the cream congeals on top of the coffee, and is kind of gross to drink :/. So it's a choice to have more carbs to avoid that messy scenario. But I use heavy cream in recipes whenever possible - budget-wise, and taste-wise - for the increased fat and for the carb savings. In most cases I have found them to be interchangeable, although sometimes it is best to thin the HWC with water in some recipes calling for "milk". (And to further muddy the waters, when I find canned coconut milk on sale, I prefer to use that in many things as well.)
Deletethanks so much for the info--truly appreciated--I continue to learn so much!!
DeleteYou're welcome - and so do I :),
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